NCCnovel Chapter 264 The scapegoat
Chapter 264 The scapegoat
Broadcast Era Year 12, 2326 AD.
On the plaza of the Earth Union Building, a huge airship floats among the high-rise buildings. Its shape is similar to the airships that appeared in early human warfare, but its internal structure is completely different.
Below the airship is a huge holographic projector that can project news footage into the city in real time for people to read and understand.
This method is extremely old, yet very effective.
Since the popularization of the SuperDream terminal, all kinds of electronic products have been phased out one after another. During that period, people were all immersed in their own world and could not extricate themselves.
The Earth Alliance initially tried to put news into the Mewtwo database, but it was met with a large number of complaints, with people considering such news as spam, just like advertisements.
Because nobody cares what new things those politicians up there have come up with. Everyone just wants to live their own lives. As for the rest, even if the sky falls, Lin Xuan and her group will hold it up. It's none of their business.
In contrast, this type of broadcast news is more readily accepted by the public, since the holographic projection is so large that you can't help but watch it.
"Breaking news: According to the calculations of the Earth Link Engineering Department, the first phase of the Ring Belt Project will be completed in March this year. At that time, residents who purchased the right to live in the Ring Belt Project in the early years can bring relevant materials to the Ring Belt Zone 1 for real-name registration. After completing the formalities, they can move in."
This broadcast was holographically projected and played repeatedly in the city centers of various cities, which was one of the few pieces of good news since the ring was established.
Lin Xuan leaned against the window, looking at the sun in the sky. Now, even from Earth, the ring around the star is clearly visible to the naked eye.
"It seems we don't have much time left."
Wei Cheng carried a stack of letter papers and walked closer. Because he hadn't cut his hair for a long time, his bangs had covered most of his eyes, forcing him to constantly touch his hair with his hand.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan turned around and looked at Wei Cheng, whose white research coat was now worn like a rag, and couldn't help but feel speechless.
“I haven’t seen anyone use paper for decades. With you here, I feel like I’ve traveled back two hundred years. Do you think there was anyone in our time who, like you, used to use bamboo slips or something else to record things?”
Wei Cheng ignored Lin Xuan's teasing and casually tossed the stack of letter papers onto the table.
"It's just a personal habit. I don't trust the results from machines. After all, their computing power isn't as good as my brain."
If someone else had said this, Lin Xuan would have definitely accused him of showing off, but since it was Wei Cheng who said it, this humanoid computer certainly had the right to say such a thing.
"Wouldn't that be too slow? After all, there's so much data to process. Even with Mewtwo, it would take me half a day to calculate it. And relying solely on human brain calculations, you really aren't afraid of getting tired."
Looking at Lin Xuan, who was asking questions with a serious expression, Wei Cheng immediately gave her a look as if she were an idiot.
“Repetitive calculations should be left to Mewtwo. I’m not a caveman. Why wouldn’t I use better tools? Do you climb the stairs every day instead of taking the elevator?”
Lin Xuan: 6!
Since the Three-Body Crisis was completely resolved, Lin Xuan could clearly feel that Wei Cheng was much more cheerful than before.
Wei Cheng used to be a quiet, reserved person. Ever since I recruited him into the engineering department, he and Wang Miao have been working in different ways, one focusing on internal affairs and the other on external affairs. They only ever buried themselves in their work, and even things like reporting on their work were mostly done by Wang Miao.
If it weren't for this person's immense contributions, Lin Xuan would sometimes not even remember that such a person existed in her life.
"The use of the first phase of the ring project should not be a problem. After all, we have already done a test before. Building it again will only make it more effective than before. The difficulty lies in the second and third phases, which are new areas that we have not tried before."
"Even now, the problem of basic materials has not been solved yet, and the engineering department is in a state of utter chaos from top to bottom."
Wei Cheng reached up and smoothed his loose hair, a rare look of embarrassment appearing on his face.
Seeing his expression, Lin Xuan immediately understood. It must be that old man Wang Miao realized he couldn't persuade her, so he sent Wei Cheng, this honest man, to test her patience.
After all, Wei Cheng is more stubborn than anyone else. If I don't give him an explanation today, he probably won't go back.
“I know your engineering department’s problems better than anyone else. The current Ringworld only meets the most basic housing requirements, but it is still a long way from what we envisioned.”
"But you really can't blame me, brother. That woman's mouth is like it's been welded shut. I've asked her at least a hundred times, but she just won't tell me the formula for the new material. I'm really at my wit's end."
"I told Professor Wang that if you really can't figure it out, you should go find that woman yourself and see what she can do. Guess what Professor Wang said?"
"Professor Wang Miao said that if all else fails, we should disassemble the machine and forcibly read her chip. What if she doesn't know anything and is just bluffing us?"
"So what do you think I can do? We can't just dismantle the Zhizi, can we? Putting aside whether we can actually read the data we want after dismantling it, this is just killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Yes, the problem is solved this time, but what about next time? We will always encounter problems that we can't solve, and by then we won't have a second Zhizi to dismantle."
Wei Cheng seemed to be persuaded by Lin Xuan's words. He nodded silently, picked up his stack of materials, and left.
No sooner had Lin Xuan gotten rid of him than Luo Congmin showed up again.
"Brother, there's something the Council needs your opinion on."
As soon as Lin Xuan saw Luo Congmin, she turned her chair around without even turning her head.
"Don't ask me. You're the president now. Don't always come to me with every little thing. If all else fails, ask your dad. I think as the former Swordholder, he's thought things through much further than I have."
Since Lin Xuan's return, Luo Congmin has consulted Lin Xuan on many important matters at the last minute.
At first, Lin Xuan was quite pleased, saying that this little girl knew to give up power to her and did not covet her presidency at all, allowing her to experience what it was like to be an emperor emeritus.
But gradually he began to realize what he meant.
Wait a minute, she's not relinquishing power to herself at all; she's clearly making a scapegoat for herself.
Many of the important opinions that Luo Congmin asked him to make were complex issues that had accumulated over the years and which the council had discussed for many years without reaching a conclusion.
It's not that the problems themselves are particularly difficult, but rather that the different choices associated with these problems will lead the Earth and even all of humanity down a path of no return.
So rather than saying that parliament is arguing endlessly, it's more accurate to say that no one wants to bear the corresponding consequences for these choices.
But Lin Xuan was different; he had the ability to bear the consequences, so naturally, he was targeted by Luo Congmin.
No matter how difficult the problem, as long as Luo Congmin reports Lin Xuan's opinion, the council will reach a consensus in a short period of time.
The mindset of the council members was: You propose it. You take responsibility.
As long as someone is willing to take the blame for this, and that person is capable of taking the blame, then what is there to discuss?
Even if Lin Xuan asked them to grow coriander on the sun, as long as they were willing to bear the pressure of scientific research and public opinion, Di Lian wouldn't ask a single question about the significance of the matter.
So after being used as a pawn by Luo Congmin a few times, Lin Xuan learned his lesson and would always push the blame to her father whenever Luo Congmin came to him for advice.
What are you doing? Isn't your dad a Wallfacer too? Why are you only relying on me to cause trouble?
This time, however, Luo Congmin didn't wait for Lin Xuan to refuse and sat down directly across from her at the table.
"Brother, Los Angeles has collapsed."